


the dream-bordering world

by rangerhitomi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Cray AU, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dreams, Established Relationship, M/M, Taking Care of Kai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22414060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: Kai and Aichi are sharing a dream they think is reality. Or they're sharing a reality they think is a dream. It depends on how you look at it.(Kai gets sick and Aichi takes him home to rest. Of course, they end up kissing instead.)
Relationships: Kai Toshiki/Sendou Aichi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	the dream-bordering world

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of an overarching AU that I have, vaguely referred to as "Cray AU" on my twitter (rangerhitomi) but is perfectly readable as a standalone fic. The idea is that Aichi and Kai are both Vanguards on Cray but at some point their lives with their Earth counterparts begin to overlap, and the decisions they make on one world start to affect the other. Someday it'll be a fully fleshed fic but for the meantime have this.

"Kai?"

He blinked several times to focus his eyes; the world around him struggled to catch up, like he’d been spinning in place with his eyes closed before stopping abruptly.

“Kai-kun?” 

A softer voice. More concerned. Tender.

He leaned his hand on the table in front of him. His fingers tightened around his cards.

“Are you okay?” 

The world stopped spinning, and Kai looked up. Across from the table, Ishida waited with four cards in his hand. 

“Kai?” Miwa tilted his head at him, eyebrows narrowed. “You look like you’re about to puke.”

His face was hot; an uncomfortable sensation built up in the back of his throat as his mouth became wet. Maybe he _was_ about to throw up. He swallowed slowly, so as not to exacerbate the feeling.

“If you do feel sick, please use the toilets and not the fight table,” Tokura said from across the room, barely looking up from her book. 

“Hey, hey, Boss Lady, he don’t look that great.”

“Call me Boss Lady again and you’ll be cleaning the entire club room by yourself tomorrow before school.”

Ishida grimaced and muttered something about Tokura being a scary lady but Kai didn’t comment on it. He instead glanced over where Aichi stood staring at him, eyebrows scrunched up in concern as he bit his lower lip.

“I’m fine,” he said, “just got dizzy is all.”

Nearby, Kamui made a _hmph_ sound, arms crossed. “You worried Aichi onii-san, you jerk.”

“We can finish the fight tomorrow, if you want,” Ishida offered. It was a testament to how bad Kai must look that he didn’t make a comment about his Eradicators being too strong for Kai’s Overlord (they weren’t, of course). 

Still, Kai never left his fights unfinished, but before he could argue to this point, Aichi had chimed in and wrapped his fingers around Kai’s forearm. Kai’s skin tingled at his touch. 

“Yes, that’s a good idea, Naoki-kun.” With his free hand, he collected the cards from the field and damage zone. “I’ll make sure Kai-kun gets home safely.”

Kai mumbled an apology to Ishida as Aichi returned Kai’s deck to its case and motioned for Kai to follow him out of the shop. Tokura glanced up on their way out the door.

“Get better.”

“I’ll make sure he does,” Aichi reassured her. Kai nodded without looking at her.

The cool autumn breeze rustled their hair as they walked. It felt good against Kai’s hot skin; the fresh air eased the sensation of nausea somewhat. Aichi led Kai to sit on a bench to lean over and catch his breath. Kai didn’t complain, just let Aichi rub his back in slow circles or hold Kai’s hand. The first time they did this, Aichi focused on Kai’s face, wiping the sweat from Kai’s brow with a handkerchief. The second time, Aichi was halfway through loosening Kai’s tie before he jerked his hands away. 

“Oh… sorry,” Aichi whispered, staring at his hands.

“For what?”

“I know you feel weird about me touching you like that in public…”

“Oh.” 

They sat together in silence, Aichi rubbing his hands together while his leg bounced. It was a nervous tic that Kai knew all too well. He didn’t like to be the cause of Aichi’s anxiety; he had caused enough of that in their lives as it was. Still, they kept their relationship a secret, even now, even from their friends, because Kai was too afraid to be open about it.

Afraid of what, even? Afraid that people would know that the sullen Kai Toshiki was capable of falling in love, _had_ fallen in love with someone as pure and optimistic and wonderful as Sendou Aichi? Afraid that he was mistaking his feelings for something they weren’t? Afraid of people judging them for it? Afraid that Aichi’s feelings for him weren’t as genuine as his own for Aichi?

No matter how hard he tried to rid himself of his paranoia, it lingered still. And Aichi was the one who suffered from it.

“It… it’s okay,” he said finally.

Aichi looked up. “What?”

Kai chewed on his lower lip. “If you hold my hand. It’s okay. If you want.”

“Oh, I… if it’s…”

 _If it’s okay with you_ was the unspoken comment. But of course it was. Kai had said as much, right?

“Are you feeling better?” Aichi amended.

Kai’s nausea had subsided, but some of the lightheadedness remained. It was nothing he couldn’t handle now. “Yeah, a bit. Let’s go?”

Aichi pulled Kai to his feet and wrapped his hand around Kai’s. The fact that he didn’t link their fingers was not lost on Kai; he longed for the feeling of Aichi’s palm against his, yet was too afraid to do it himself.

Afraid, again. Of what, of _what?_

“Earlier,” Aichi said as they walked, “you… you were fine and then all of a sudden you kind of, I don’t know, glazed over? Like you rode Overlord but then, I thought you were going to pass out...”

It was only a matter of time before they’d get to this conversation. Kai remembered exactly what happened, but it was complicated to explain. He wasn’t sure explaining it would make sense or if it would muddy things.

“I,” he began, then hesitated. Surely if anyone would believe or understand him, it would be Aichi… Aichi, with his Psyqualia, Aichi with his connection to Cray, Aichi, who would never doubt Kai…

Something of his confusion must have showed on his face. Aichi gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay, just something I noticed, I didn’t—“

“No, no.” Kai frowned. “It’s fine. I just, it was weird, is all.”

“How so?” Aichi tilted his head.

Vivid images flashed in his mind, of a towering stone palace built into a mountainside, a vast desert, massive dragons blotting out the sun as they stretched their leathery wings. He heard his own voice issuing stern orders about battle positions, pointing a clawed hand covered in red and gold scales. He felt his tongue brush against sharp incisors set into a jaw that jutted forward just a little.

Kai exhaled. “You know how when you start a fight, you imagine that you’re on Cray?”

“Of course,” Aichi said with a smile and a gentle nudge with his shoulder. “You taught me that.”

“Well… I held the image, like usual, but...”

He held up his free hand. Pale flesh, short fingernails. He trailed his tongue over the back of his teeth, flat and smooth. Unremarkable in every way.

“I wasn’t an astral form. I was, I was there. I was a unit. I was a unit on Cray.”

It sounded stupid, saying it out loud.

He chanced a look at Aichi, who was staring ahead with his brows furrowed in thought.

“Aichi?”

“Kai-kun, it— it really sounds...”

“I know it sounds weird, but—“

“No, no.” Aichi shook his head earnestly. “It sounds like what happens when my, my Psyqualia manifests...”

Kai stopped walking. It took Aichi a few steps before he realized Kai wasn’t moving and turned back to him.

“I don’t have Psyqualia.”

“I know, and neither does Naoki-kun. That’s why it’s weird.” Aichi chewed on his lip a moment. “Like, is it… are you aware that you’re there? Like, you’re aware you’re on Cray?”

How could he know? It only happened the one time, and even then it was more like a bizarre hallucination, with his clawed hands and red-and-gold scales and sharp incisors.

“No,” he said. “I wasn’t aware of my existence being transplanted onto Cray. More like, I belonged on Cray. If that makes sense.”

“I… I don’t know.” Aichi pulled on Kai’s hand again, not looking at him. “Let’s get you home. I’ll, I’ll make tea for you.”

Kai didn’t press, though he suspected Aichi had similar experiences to his own. Psyqualia had manifested in him almost as strongly as it had in Ren in only a fraction of the time; if there was anyone he trusted not to think he was making it all up, it was Aichi.

They didn’t speak for the entire rest of the way to Kai’s apartment, yet Aichi maintained a firm grip on Kai’s hand the whole time.

When they entered his home, he let Aichi lead him to the bed. Let Aichi sit him down to wait as he went to make Kai some tea. Listened to the sounds of Aichi digging around in the cupboards for something soothing and decaffeinated as the kettle heated the water. 

There was something mundane about it all, yet comforting; a taste of domesticity coloring their budding relationship, calming the anxiety he felt still even after all this time. He’d been in love with Aichi for so long that he still had trouble believing it was real, that Aichi loved him back with equal fervor. That changed the moment Aichi pressed the hot cup of tea into Kai’s hands.

“Thank you.” Kai lifted the tea to his lips. It was scalding hot, but he sipped it anyway; the aroma of ginger filled his nose and he breathed it in deeply.

Aichi smiled. His hand slid over and rested on Kai’s leg, a simple gesture that had Kai’s entire body shuddering. “Are you feeling better?”

 _Yes_ barely passed Kai’s lips as Aichi’s free hand pressed against Kai’s back at the same time the hand on Kai’s thigh slid inward. Kai cleared his throat weakly. “Yes.”

“That’s good. You should sleep when you’ve finished the tea.”

Either Aichi didn’t realize what his simple touches were doing to Kai or he was doing it intentionally; either way, Kai struggled with the need to touch Aichi in return, to caress his face, to—

“Drink up, Kai-kun.”

The hand on Kai’s thigh moved to hold the bottom of the cup. It was probably for the best; Kai’s own hands shook as he lifted the cup to his lips for another sip.

Another, and another, each guided by Aichi’s firm hand, even as he stroked Kai’s back with feather-light touches that sent shivers up Kai’s spine. With each sip, a word of encouragement. _That’s it Kai-kun, keep it up, it’s almost empty, just a few more sips…_

With the last sip, Aichi hummed approvingly and took it from Kai’s hands with both of his. Losing the sensation of Aichi’s fingers running up and down Kai’s back was suddenly too much, and Kai grabbed Aichi’s wrists with unseemly desperation. 

“Kai-kun?”

Aichi’s skin was so soft. 

“Stay,” Kai began, but he lost his voice before he could continue. He looked down at the bed as he released Aichi’s wrists.

“I will,” Aichi assured him. “I’m going to put this in the sink, okay? I’ll come right back.”

Kai nodded, and as Aichi strode from the bed to the kitchen, a few short steps, Kai swallowed and leaned on the bed. 

Maybe he was feverish. Maybe he was desperate. Maybe he still felt lonely, despite everything. But he knew he didn’t want Aichi to leave, and he knew that he wanted to feel Aichi touch him.

 _Selfish,_ he thought.

The bed sank; Aichi’s hands cupped Kai’s face, which burned at the touch. “You’re still warm. Let’s get you—”

Kai grabbed his wrists again, pulling Aichi closer. “Aichi, I—“

How was he supposed to communicate that he wanted Aichi to kiss him, to hold him, to caress his body as they fell asleep together? They had never done anything that physical before, not in the two months since Aichi was able to blurt out that he loved Kai, and Kai was finally able to reciprocate. They’d kissed a few times, held hands, hugged, but in such reserved ways befitting two painfully shy teenage boys who had never been in love before and didn’t know how to be.

“It’s okay.” Aichi’s hands shook a little as he pulled Kai’s face closer. “It’s okay,” he said again, and pressed his mouth against Kai’s.

It was more than okay, Kai thought; it was heavenly. He never could have imagined the shy Sendou Aichi knowing how to kiss like this, with his hot mouth pressing deep on Kai's and pulling away, leaving a trail of kisses along Kai's jawbone before finding Kai's lips again. He didn't know what to do with his hands, but Aichi took care of that, too; he guided Kai's hands by the wrists to Aichi's tie, which Kai undid with shaking fingers. 

"Kai-kun," Aichi whispered.

"Aichi," he whispered back, and Aichi smiled as he kissed Kai once more. 

Aichi's tie and blazer came off, tossed in the vague direction of Kai's desk; without a word, Aichi took Kai by the hips and pulled him on top, where Aichi could sink into Kai's pillow and put his hands under Kai's shirt and—

Kai arched his back against the overwhelming sensation of Aichi's fingers on his spine, tracing each vertebra with feather-light touches. He steeled himself by gripping Aichi's waist.

"Kiss me, Kai-kun."

He wanted nothing more.

Their bodies pressed together, Kai pushed their lips together again, only guiding enough for Aichi to find the right rhythm again, only enough until Aichi's lips found Kai's jaw, his neck, his collarbone, until Aichi's fingers slid up along Kai's spine with just the right amount of pressure to force a moan from Kai's throat. His whole body burned; if they kept going he would be dangerously close to begging Aichi for something more, and he wasn't sure either of them was ready for that. Not yet.

Not yet...

But someday.

"Aichi," he managed, "will, will you hold me?"

"Of course." Aichi's voice was stronger than his, like so many other things about Aichi, and he pulled Kai's weak body into his arms and played with his hair until he fell asleep.

* * *

“Kai-kun.”

He could live a thousand years and never tire of the way Aichi spoke his name. Of that familiar honorific that slipped from Aichi's mouth in the most endearing, intimate ways.

“Mm.”

“I have to leave...” His voice sounded regretful.

“You don’t have to,” Kai mumbled. He blindly moved his head until it was buried in Aichi’s chest again.

Aichi laughed breathily as he stroked Kai’s hair. “I do. I have English class tomorrow.”

“Skip.”

Louder laughter, this time. “Kai-kun, you’re a bad influence on me.”

Kai opened his eyes and pulled his face from Aichi’s body. Aichi’s smile was more radiant than any piece of art could ever hope to be. His heart skipped.

“My mom already texted six times to tell me I need to come home.” Aichi held up his phone.

With a sigh, Kai untangled himself from Aichi. “Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

Aichi sat on the edge of the bed, putting his tie and blazer back on. His shirt was a bit wrinkled. “Uh-huh?”

“Stay over after?”

“Hm.” Aichi tucked in his shirt and glanced back over at Kai. His playful smile offset the seriousness of his raised eyebrow. “You’re awfully forward today, Kai-kun.”

Kai slumped back into his pillow. “It’s been… a strange day.”

Aichi’s smile faded somewhat. He leaned over and placed his hand on Kai’s cheek. “Just get some sleep. We’ll figure it out tomorrow, okay? If you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah.”

They kissed again, less deeply than before but still enough to numb Kai’s entire body. He had no idea how Aichi was able to straighten up and confidently walk to the front door without his legs shaking.

“Kai-kun?” Aichi looked back from the door.

“Aichi?”

That radiant smile, again. “I love you, Kai-kun.”

His heart skipped again.

“I, I love you too, Aichi.”

“Make sure to rest. Drink some water. If you can’t make it to Card Capital, call me and I’ll come over, okay?”

“Okay.”

With a satisfied nod, Aichi closed the door.

 _Make sure to rest,_ he’d said, but Kai was afraid to close his eyes, lest his dream of being on Cray returned and proved to be the reality.

But then, he thought as exhaustion overtook him again, if Aichi was there too, on Cray, they were soulmates, right? They would find each other… they would fall in love again…

...and it wouldn’t matter…

...if they lived on Earth, or if they lived on Cray.


End file.
